Device for removing a tip or foot bunch from a cop



w. KUPPER 3,494,563

DEVICE FOR REMOVING A TIP OR FOOT BUNCH FROM A COP Feb. 10, 1970 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 20, 1968 FIGJ' FIG.2

INVENTOR w. KUPPER 3,494,563

DEVICE FOR REMOVING A TIP OR FOOT BUNCH FROM A COP Feb. 10, 1970 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 20, 1968 INVENI'OR w. KUPPER 3,494,563

DEVICE FOR REMOVING A TIP OR FOOT BUNCH FROM A COP Feb. 10, 1970 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed June 20, 1968 INVENI'OR United States Patent 3,494,563 DEVICE FOR REMOVING A TIP OR FOOT BUNCH FROM A COP Wilhelm Kupper, Rickelrath, Kreis Erkelenz, Germany,

assignor to Walter Reiners, Monchen-Gladbach, Gerany Filed June 20, 1968, Ser. No. 740,439

Claims priority, application Germany, June 21, 1967,

R 46,303; June 22, 1967, R 46,312; Mar. 28, 1968,

' Int. Cl. B65h 67/06 US. Cl. 24235.6 7 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Devices for removing the tip or foot bunch from supply coils includes mechanical removing mechanism for slidingly seizing the thread end of a bunch to be removed from a supply coil and drawing it off. The mechanism comprises a pair of rotary members having peripheral surfaces mutually engageable along a contact line. Also provided are means for moving the supply coil in a direction along the contact line. At least one of the surfaces is formed with recesses distributed thereover and having such shape that the engageable peripheral surface area increases in the direction of movement of the supply coil.

My invention relates to device for removing the tip or foot bunch from a supply coil or cop, and more particularly to such device which has two roller-like rotary members provided with peripheral surfaces substantially engaging one another along a contact line, the supply coil being conveyed in a direction along the line, and at least one of the rotary members being formed with recesses distributed on the peripheral surface thereof.

In my patent application Ser. No. 598,062, filed Nov. 30, 1966, I have described and shown a device for removing the tip or foot bunch from a cop wherein the device includes a pair of roller-like rotary members by which a thread end previously freed from a bunch, for example by pneumatic means, is clampingly seized and drawn off the end of a supply coil due to the rotation of the rotary members. In the device of the aforementioned copending application, the cop whose tip or foot bunch is to be removed, is passed along the line of engagement between the pair of rotary members. At least one of the two rotary members is provided with recesses distributed over the surface thereof so that the thread end forming the tip or foot bunch is intermittently drawn off the end of the cop. It has been found, however, that delicate yarns can be torn due to this intermittent pulling of the thread end, so that the thread end leading to the cop cannot be seized again by the roller-shaped thread-pulling device.

There has also been suggested in the aforementioned copending application, in the case wherein the cop is supplied suspended by the tip thereof the bunch-removing device, to place the cop in rotation in order to facilitate drawing-off of the thread. The device provided in the aforementioned copending application for rotating the cop has the disadvantages that it is relatively costly and does not provide positive guarantee that each cop core will be seized without any trouble particularly if the cop cores are slightly damaged.

It is accordingly an object of my invention to provide device for removing tip or foot bunches from a cop which will avoid breaks or tearing of the thread due to intermittent pulling thereof by the thread-removing device.

It is a further object of my invention to provide an improved means for rotating the cop as the thread is being drawn off therefrom.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, I provide device for removing the tip or foot bunch of a cop according to my invention wherein at least one of the rotary members is provided with recesses which are of such form that the peripheral surfaces of the rotary members which are in engagement with one another increase in area in the direction of movement of the cop relative thereto along the line of contact thereof. This inventive solution of the problem of tearing the thread end caused by the intermittent pulling thereof is based on the realization that tearing of the thread could be avoided if the thread is initially pulled only slightly and, only after the initial interlockings are overcome, is gradually subjected to a relatively longer pulling movement. Due to the fact that the peripheral surfaces of the rotary members which are in engagement with one another increases in area in the direction of movement of the cop along the contact line, the thread end is initially clamped for a relatively short time between the rotary members so that only a short end of the thread is drawn off during that period. The farther the cop is passed along the line of contact of the rotary members, the greater are the surface areas of the two rotary members that are in engagement with one another and the longer will the thread be clamped therebetween so that the length of thread which is drawn off becomes increasingly longer until finally both rotary members have unbroken peripheral surface areas which remain constantly in engagement with one another so that a continuous drawing-off of the thread then takes place.

The continuous drawing-off of the thread in the final nonrecessed portions of the rotary members requires continuous release of the thread from the supply coil. Since such continuous release of the thread is not always assured because of the particular form of winding of the supply coil, the thread can become overstressed and tear, under unfavorable conditions and for particularly delicate thread, due to the fact that it is being pulled continuously.

It is accordingly a further object of my invention in such a case, to provide an improved device in accordance with my invention which prevents the breaking of the thread even when the thread is relatively delicate.

With this and other objects further in view I provide at least one of the rotary members on part of the final cylindrical portion thereof in the direction of movement of the cop with a reduced radius that is smaller by a distance less than the thickness of the thread. Consequently the thread is no longer constantly clamped but rather is slidingly held at the location of the rotary member having the smaller radius so that is is subjected to a reduced pulling force thereat.

In accordance with another feature of the invention I provide recesses on the rotary member extending in axially parallel direction, these recesses being disposed in staggered relation to those recesses which are formed thereon and which are of such shape as to provide an ever-increasing engaging surface of the rotary members in the direction of movement of the cop along the contact line of the rotary members. All of the recesses can be so disposed and distributed over the surface of the rotary member that, between the recesses in the region of the rotary member having the larger and non-reduced diameter a roll-around surface remains extending completely around the periphery of the rotary member.

Other features which are considered as characteristic of the invention are set forth in the appended claims.

Although the invention is illustrated and described herein as embodied in device for removing the tip or foot bunch of a cop, it is nevertheless not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention and within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims.

The construction and method of operation of the invention, however, toegther with additional objects and advantages thereof will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiment when read in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. I is a front elevational view of a cop being transported by a conveyor belt and of the roller-shaped threadwithdrawing device according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the lines II-II in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view corresponding to that of FIG. 4 including a modified embodiment of the roller-shaped thread-withdrawing device;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line IVIV in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 6 taken along the line V-V; and

FIG. 6 is another view corresponding to those of FIG. 1 and FIG. 3 showing a further modification of the device for removing the tip or foot bunch from a cop according to the invention.

Referring now to the drawings and first particularly to FIGS. 1 and 2 thereof, there is shown a cop 1 disposed in a conventional pocket 4 of a series of nonillustrated pockets provided on a conveyor belt 3 travelling in the direction of the arrow A. The lower end of the cop 1 as seen in FIG. 1 is supported on a support 28 formed of a pair of parallel rods. The thread-withdrawing device is formed of two roller-shaped rotary members 25 and 26 rotatable about the axes 25a and 26a respectively. The rotary member 26 is provided with recesses 26' distributed on the peripheral surface thereof, the recesses being so formed that the surfaces 26" of the rotary members 25 and 26 which are in contact with one another, increase in area in the direction of movement of the cop 1 along the line of contact between the rotary members 25 and 26 as indicated by the arrow A. It is clearly recognized that the thread is clamped longer between the rollers 25 and 26 the farther it is passed in the direction of the arrow A between the rollers. Consequently, an ever longer length of thread is drawn off until the thread at the end of the recesses 26 is thereafter uninterruptedly clamped between the rollers 25 and 26 and is continuously drawn off as the cop moves in the direction of the arrow A. In this way, a break in the thread, as the foot or tip bunch is being drawn off a cop, is prevented if the thread to be drawn off has interlocked with thread layers lying therebeneath. These underlying thread layers, as shown in the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2, can consist of the foot bunch 2 but can also be the windings of the cop proper lying beneath the reverse Winding 5 of the cop. In order that the thread and generally located on the surface of the cop core or on the foot bunch 2 or on the non-illustrated tip bunch, may be seized by the rollers 25 and 26, it is possible, for example, to apply to the cop an air current flowing in the direction of the arrow D toward the rollers 25 and 26.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, structural features that are the same as in the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2 are identified by the same reference numerals as in FIGS. 1 and 2.

However, in the emodiment of FIGS. 3 and 4, the rotary member 261 diff'rs from the rotary member 26 of FIGS. 1 and 2. Thus, a portion 41 of the cylindrical length of the rotary member 261 is reduced in diameter 9y an amount wherein the radius is smaller by less than :he thickness of the thread. The result thereof is that the bread, when overlying this portion 41 is less tightly :lamped and is thereby subjected to a pulling force less :han when it overlies the adjacent portions 42 and 43 of zhe'rotary member 261. The rotary member 261 is more- )ver provided with axially parallel recesses 40 disposed in staggered arrangement with respect to the recesses 26' in the circumferential direction of the rotary member 261. The axially parallel recesses 40 assure intermittent drawing off of the thread also in the portion of the rotary member 261 wherein the recesses 40 are formed. It is particularly advantageous if the recesses 26' and 40 overlap in the longitudinal direction as can be clearly seen in FIG. 3.

To achieve an impact-free roll-around operation between the rotary members 25 and 261 provision is made, at the portion 42 of the rotary member 261, for a rollaround surface 44 to be maintained completely over the entire periphery of the rotary member 261 in spite of the presence of the recesses 26' and 40. This also can apply to the portion or region 43 if the rotary member 261 in the case where the recesses 40 extend into the portion 43. Thus, with the embodiment of FIGS. 3 and 4, the thread is drawn off the cop sparingly and intermittently between the rotary members 25 and 261.

The structural members of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 which correspond to like members in the embodiments of FIGS. 1 and 2, on the one hand, and FIGS. 3 and 4, on the other hand, are also identified by the same reference numerals or characters. In the embodiment of FIGS. 5 and 6, however, to prevent the cop 1 from sliding downwardly from the conveyor pocket 4, two fixed supports 280 and 290 are provided which are not rod-shaped however as in the embodiments of FIGS. 1 to 4 but rather have the construction of an angle-iron in order to provide better guidance for the foot of the cop as the cop is rotated. The conveyor pocket 4 in the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6 is open at the side thereof at which it is serviced, i.e., at which depleted cops may be replaced by servicing personnel for example. In front of the opening provided in the pocket 4, a device 201 is located which, in the thus illustrated embodiment, is constructed as a rotary endless band travelling about suitably mounted reversing rollers 211. The device 201 partially forms the side of the conveyor pocket 4 located opposite the conveyor belt 3 and prevents the copl from tipping over and out of the pocket 4. To assure, however, that the cop 1 is set into rotation by the device 201, the axis 3a of the reversing rollers 203 for the conveyor band 3 and therewith also the axis 1a of the conveyor pocket 4 are inclined to such an extent relative to the vertical that the cop 1 lies up against the band 201.

Beneath both fixed supports 280 and 290, both threadremoving rollers 25 and 26 are located. In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the rollers correspond to those of FIGS. 1 and 2 in that roller 26 is provided with recesses 26' which gradually narrow in width in the direction of movement of the cop 1 indicated by the arrow B so that the contact surface area of the rollers 25 and 26 in the direction of the arrow B continuously increases.

A blower nozzle 202 produces an air current between the rotary members 25 and 26 in the direction of movement of the cop 1 represented by the arrow B by means of which the thread F in advance of the cop 1 is passed between the rollers 25 and 26. The advance thread F is clearly seen in FIG. 6 as being in this way spaced from the possibly damaged foot of the cop core so that the end of the thread cannot come into contact therewith.

My invention is, of course, not limited to the aforedescribed embodiments. For example, to transport cops on conveyor belts, many different types of transport containers have become known heretofore wherein the cops can be inserted. The expression conveyor pockets employed herein extends to all types of containers, accordingly, independently of whether it is of the so-called trough or case type or the like. These known conveyor pockets may be divided into two groups. The pockets of' one group are open onthe side thereof opposite the con veyor belt so that a cop received therein can be tipped out of the same if it is not prevented from doing so by being disposed in a suitably inclined manner. The second group consists of closed conveyor pockets wherein the cops are transported with their axes either extending vertically or inclined to the vertical. In the invention of the instant application, conveyor pockets of either group can be employed. It is important only from the standpoint of the invention that the side of the conveyor pocket located opposite the conveyor belt be at least partly formed by a device movable relative to the conveyor belt and against which the cop can lie due to the location of the cop in an inclined position. My invention is thus employable both for open conveyor pockets of which at least part of the open side is formed by the moving device, and by closed conveyor pockets provided with a recess wherein the device movable relative to the conveyor belt projects so that the cop having a suitable inclined position abuts against the device.

As aforementioned, numerous variations and modifications of the lower support members for the cop as well as of the device 201 movable relative to the conveyor belt 3 fall within the scope of my invention. Furthermore, as aforementioned, it is advantageous to select a relative rate of movement between the device 201 and the conveyor belt 3 so that the cop is caused to rotate about its axis at a speed desirable for withdrawing the thread therefrom. This can be achieved with a stationary support 201, for example by suitably selecting the velocity of the conveyor belt 3 and the conveyor pockets 4 accordingly. If the device 201 proper is constructed so that it is movable, the direction of movement of the device 201, depending on the desired rotary speed of the cop and the velocity of the conveyor belt 3, can coincide either with the direction of movement of the conveyor belt 3 as indicated by the arrow B or with the opposite direction thereof. It is essential only that a drawing-off of the reverse winding 5 of the thread be as uniform as possible for which rotation of the cop 1 in the direction of the arrow C is advantageous for a cop wound in the manner shown in FIGS. 5 and 6.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for removing the tip or foot bunch from supply coils comprising mechanical removing mechanism for slidingly seizing the thread end of a bunch to be removed from a supply coil and drawing it off the coil, said mechanism including a pair of rotary members having peripheral surfaces partly engageable with one another along a contact line, and means for moving the supply coil in a direction along said contact line and adjacent said rotary members, at least one of said surfaces being formed with recesses distributed thereover and being of such shape that the engageable peripheral surface portions of said rotary members increase in area in said direction of movement of the supply coil.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said recesses are disposed circumferentially about said peripheral surface of said one rotary member and have respectively narrowing widths in said direction of movement of the supply coil.

3. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said rotary members are substantially cylindrical along adjacent lengths thereof, at least one of said rotary members having a portion of reduced diameter formed in said cylindrical length thereof, the radius of said cylindrical length at said reduced-diameter portion being diminished by a distance less than the thickness of the thread.

4. Apparatus according to claim 3 wherein said cylindrical length of said rotary member is formed with recesses extending in axially parallel direction, said parallel recesses being disposed about the periphery of said rotary member in staggered relation to said first-mentioned recesses that have a shape resulting in an increase in area of the engagea'ble peripheral surface portions of said rotary members in said direction of movement of the supply coil.

5. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said means for moving said supply coil comprises a conveyor belt carrying a pocket thereon wherein the supply coil is received, said pocket having an opening on a side thereof located opposite the side thereof adjacent to said conveyor belt, a device movable relative to said conveyor belt and at least partly closing said opening, said pocket having an axis inclined with respect to the vertical so that the supply coil is held in said pocket by said device and is rotated by said relative movement of said device and said conveyor belt.

6. Apparatus according to claim 5 wherein said device is a rotary endless belt.

7. Apparatus according to claim 5 including nozzle means for producing an air current in said direction of movement of the supply coil between said rotary members.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,458,326 1/1949 Wilson 28-19 2,499,810 3/1950 Alix et a1. 2819 X 2,747,806 5/ 6 Borchardt.

2,769,598 11/1956 Drake et a1.

STANLEY N. GILREATH, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 2819 

